A responsible official source Tuesday denied any Jordanian involvement in the killing of Muhammad Jihad Jibril the eldest son of Palestinian leader Ahmed Jibril.
The source was quoted as saying by the Jordanian news agency as saying: "Responding to press remarks by Secretary General of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, Ahmed Jibril, aired by Aljazeerah satellite TV, on the explosion which claimed the life of his son the late Muhammad Jihad
in Beirut Monday, May 20, we affirm the following: These
allegations are completely groundless. Jordan, with its firm course known to everyone, condemns acts of liquidation and assassination regardless of their source or motives and Jordan has never targeted any Arab brethren, be they are Palestinians or others."
Earlier, Ahmad Jibril said Jordanian intelligence may have helped its Israeli counterpart assassinate his son in Beirut, charging that the two collaborate closely.
"We say it is the Israelis who carried out" the assassination of Jihad Jibril, but there are local collaborators who facilitated the enemy's task," said Jibril.
"The Israeli enemy's intelligence relies on US intelligence and Jordanian intelligence," and the three closely coordinate their activities, forming an "evil trio which managed to harm us," Jibril added.
He said the PFLP-GC had detained Jordanian intelligence agents in Lebanon, accusing Jordan's intelligence services of "having become a tool in the hands of (Israel's) Mossad and US intelligence."
Later, Al-Jazeera reported that a senior PFLP-GC commander had been arrested in Beirut on suspicion of being involved in the killing. Security sources said three unidentified people were detained and being questioned.
While investigations are ongoing to determine if the bomb was detonated by remote control, security sources said the device was the same type used to assassinate Prime Minister Rashid Karami in 1987 an attack carried out by the Lebanese Forces militia, the Lebanese Daily Star reported.
Security sources in Lebanon said the victim had received several previous death threats and that other attempts on the lives of PFLP-GC officials had occurred in recent weeks.
According to the PFLP-GC, Jihad Jibril held the rank of major in the organization after attending the Libyan military academy from 1981-1983 and receiving parachute training.
In 1997, he was badly wounded in an explosion during an exercise in the Bekaa, and in 2000 he escaped an assassination attempt when his car came under fire near a PFLP-GC base south of Beirut. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
